You are natively born to the mountain and self-directed toward the distance.
On September 17, 2023, the ancient Tea forest cultural landscape of Jingmai Mountain in Pu'er successfully gained World Heritage status. With this achievement, the world now knows its splendor, marking a new chapter in time. From here, you journey from China to the world, becoming the world's Jingmai Mountain.
“We are grateful to nature and thankful for everything our ancestors have left us. The ancestor Paaileng left us tea, which has sustained generations upon generations. We must protect every plant, every tree, and every brick and tile on Jingmai Mountain for generations to come.” Upon hearing that the ancient tea forest cultural landscape of Pu'er's Jingmai Mountain had successfully been listed as a World Heritage site, Zhou Tianhua, a resident of Mangjing Village, expressed his thoughts with deep emotion.
The ancient tea forest cultural landscape of Pu'er's Jingmai Mountain consists of five ancient tea forests, nine ancient villages, and three buffer protection forests. The harmonious relationship between humans and nature embedded within it allows forests to be utilized, tea forests protected, and villages to endure. This highlights the wisdom of our ancestors in following nature and preserving the ancient tea forests, offering significant ecological insights for sustainable and high-quality development in today's society.
The ancient tea forest of Dapingzhang in Jingmai Mountain. (Photo by Chen Fei)
“The Hani, Bulang, Dai, and Wa ethnic groups have lived together on Jingmai Mountain for generations, in harmony. Together, they cultivate and protect tea, leading ever-improving lives.” The simple words of Li Zixue, a resident of Jingmai Village, reveal the secret of Jingmai Mountain's “harmony between heaven, earth, and humanity.”
For centuries, the fates of people and the mountain have been closely intertwined. The residents of Jingmai Mountain are the creators, protectors, and inheritors of its heritage. Regardless of ethnicity or origin, neighbors help each other in times of need, share meals and tea when at leisure, living peacefully and developing harmoniously. They have created a unique tea ancestral faith and a Tea culture centered around “harmony,” forming a tea cultural landscape where forests and tea coexist and people and tea thrive together. Their simple ecological ethics of respecting nature and protecting mountains, traditional farming knowledge system adapted to local conditions, and multi-ethnic governance philosophy of peace, friendliness, openness, and inclusiveness, all become precious legacies bestowed by Jingmai Mountain to the world.
During the Autumn Tea harvest season, almost every household on Jingmai Mountain is busy roasting tea at night. After an autumn rain, the fine moisture blends with the fragrance of tea, orchids, and wood, rising into layers of mist. This is the unique aroma of Jingmai Mountain.
The thousand-year-old tradition of planting tea under the forest canopy on Jingmai Mountain has formed a unique tea cultural landscape where forests and tea coexist and people and tea flourish together. Its distinctive advantageous industries and rich tea-making and drinking culture support the prosperity dreams of the people of Jingmai Mountain.
In the 1990s, “dense planting and high yield” terrace tea began to be promoted on Jingmai Mountain, utilizing moderate applications of fertilizers and pesticides to control pests and increase tea yields. However, the problem of increased production not translating into increased income persisted. Facing this dilemma, the people of Jingmai Mountain sought answers in the steadfast traditions passed down through generations.
In 2006, Mangjing Village initiated a pilot project to optimize tea forest transformation. Villagers removed excess tea trees to create space for quality tea trees to grow, then planted shade trees appropriately, forming the unique tea forest symbiosis model of Jingmai Mountain.
“At first, it was a bit hard to cut down the trees, but after the transformation, the price of terrace ecological tea increased tenfold, and valuable medicinal Herbs were even produced under the trees,” said Nan Kang, a villager from Mangjing.
Nan Kang's home is always bustling. Whenever guests arrive, he invites them to sit around the fire pit and roast tea. Amidst the rising smoke and fragrant tea, guests always marvel at the unique and refreshing taste of “roasted tea.”
Tea farmers utilize e-commerce platforms. (Photo by Chen Fei)
“I am Xianxian, a native resident of Jingmai Mountain, where we have lived for generations…” Every afternoon around 4 PM, 22-year-old Xian Jin, a resident of Mangjing Village, begins her livestream on Douyin. Through her diligent efforts, the highest-selling tea in her “Jingmai Mountain Nuolaxia Tea Factory” Douyin store has sold over 10,000 units.
“Princess Bulang” Ebo established the Lancang Jingmai Princess Bulang Tea Factory, becoming the first tea company on Jingmai Mountain to register a product trademark. The factory covers 4,000 square meters and offers 39 types of products, leading a professional cooperative of over 60 tea farmers out of Jingmai Mountain…
At the Jingmai Mountain Princess Bulang Tea Factory, Bulang girl Ye Xiang serves tea to customers. (Photo by Hu Chao)
Jingmai Mountain currently has over 70,000 mu of tea gardens. Thanks to effective conservation measures, the average price of Jingmai Mountain's ancient tea trees has risen from 500 RMB per kilogram in 2010 to 800-1,200 RMB per kilogram today. In 2022, the per capita net income of farmers in Jingmai Village exceeded 17,000 RMB, while in Mangjing Village, it surpassed 20,000 RMB, far exceeding the average rural income levels in Lancang County, Pu'er City, and nationwide.
Below Jingmai Mountain, construction is underway for the world's first 10,000-ton smart tea cellar, the Tea Horse Ancient Cellar; outside the mountain, one ecological tea garden after another is flourishing with vitality.
To comprehensively assist Yunnan in strengthening its trillion-yuan Cloud tea industry and continuously growing the tea industry as its top pillar industry, in recent years, Pu'er City has pioneered ecological tea garden transformations nationwide. By transforming tea gardens into tea forests and green into organic, the city has accelerated the construction of green and standardized primary processing factories, significantly improving the quality of Pu'er tea. Since 2010, over 1.36 million mu of tea gardens in the city have undergone ecological management. To date, the number of companies, areas, and certificates certified as organic ranks first among prefecture-level cities in China. The green development path of Pu'er tea is becoming increasingly broad and firmly established.
Today's Jingmai Mountain has become a “green development manual” and a “roadmap for rural revitalization,” attracting countless young entrepreneurs. Traditional ancient villages have become “places where dreams begin.”
Zhaya, the owner of a homestay in Wengji Ancient Village, also runs a tea business. Another identity he holds is as the founder of the “Dingdang Band” on Jingmai Mountain, a singer of the great mountains and a disseminator of Bulang ethnic culture. In 2013, Zhaya and his wife Efang renovated their family home, named it “Yuejian,” and provided tea drinking and accommodation services to tourists. “Thinking of that place, verdant hills, blooming mountain flowers, clear springs flowing…” As night falls, melodic singing echoes through the village, marking another busy day